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STUDY 

OF 

LITERATURE 

as a Mode of 
Expressing Life 



STORAGE 1 
COLLECTION 




rhe 

Study of loiter atiire as a Mode 
of Expressing Efe 



The 

Study of Literature as a Mode 

of Expressing Life 

MOTHER GOOSE — HUMOR 



By 

Emily C. Fisher — L. A. Hicks 



^ 



BOSTON: EMILY C. FISHER 

1903 






i^b 



Copyrighted 1903 by 
Emily C. Fisher 




The Heintzemann Press Boston 



The 

Value of Mother Goose 

to the Child 

THE beginnings of every literature express 
the childhood of the race. Mother Goose 
with her songs to and from all her children 
is the type of all these beginnings. Life accompa- 
nied by Mother Goose must develop in the child 
those essential elements of complete living-which her 
sympathy constantly expresses and which lead to true 
growth. 

The relation of the parent to the child and of one 
child to another in the family are the universal, ele- 
mental relations. Mother Goose's songs to Willy 
and Simple Simon, etc., the children's songs of play 
with the mother and with one another, show the 
humor which is the setting of the true family life. 
Humor is a spiritual faculty; its influence in self- 
conscious growth is fundamental, for through its use 
alone one can find the true background in the changes 
that the growth of life must produce. As the in- 
fluence of sincerest humor is embodied in the truths 
of the Mother Goose tales, so the value of them as 
a formative influence in the intellectual impulse for 
the study of life's expressions, in literature or any 

5 



other form, becomes evident as the tales are studied. 
And the value of them in the acceptance of ideals or 
in the merely subconscious habitual attitude is re- 
vealed by a sincere use of all the tales. Every child 
accepts his environment and in it, through the in- 
fluence of the Mother Goose spirit, may attain the 
power to discern the congruous and incongruous. 
This ability to use a constant sense of humor is the 
power to understand and accept life. 

Personality and activity are the two elemental 
forces that direct and control a child's living. He 
feels a personality in every object, and through his 
own contact with it he seeks to find the expression 
of the personal spirit which arouses his feeling. 

"Hey ! diddle, diddle. 
The cat and the fiddle, 
The cow jumped over the moon," etc., 

and 

" A cat came fiddling out of a barn, 
With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm ; 
She could sing nothing but fiddle de dee. 
The mouse has married the humble-bee ; 
Pipe, cat, — dance, mouse, — 
We'll have a wedding at our good house," 

are both stories of the unusual. They express the 
facts of separate entities, the impossibility of obser- 
vation or of verifying details, and through the imagi- 
nation the truth of unity in gleeful life. Especially 

6 



in the early life of children, the value of feeling the 
personality in all things cannot be overestimated. 
Art is always a mode of expressing completely to a 
living soul the meaning of life as it has been revealed 
to one. In a family the melody 

" As I went through the garden gap 
Whom should I meet but Dick Red-cap, 
A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat, 
If you'll tell me this riddle I '11 give you a groat," 

shows the value of feeling the personality in every- 
thing. It is more than merely the personal element. 
It is a piece of realism to the four-year-old who is 
himself Dick Red-cap, with stick in hand and a play 
of gulp-in-throat, etc. ; to the seven-year-old the 
realism has softened into the mystery of riddle to be 
met, not alone, but in raillery, with somebody else 
seeking the answer. Then when the four and seven 
have lived this as many decades, they are still re- 
peating the melody to little hearers and their own 
reminiscences. 

An essential element in the development of the 
child is the subconscious life in which he lives. It 
determines the tone of his response to the life about 
him in all the after years. All of Mother Goose's 
expression is pervaded by a spirit of healthful op- 
timism, joyousness, and vigor which will not only 
determine the child's feeling-tone but will promote 

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an active spirit by suggesting forms of activity. In 
the song 

" As I was going along, long, long, 
A-singing a comical song, song, song. 
The lane that I went was so long, long, long. 
And so I went singing along," 

there is a repetition of sounds i — 6, etc., again and 
again, expressing h^ppy feeling. It is a Simple Simon, 
perhaps, carelessly singing until the contagion of his 
song reaches the other children. And again in the 
melody 

" As I was going o'er Tipple Tine, 
I met a flock of bonny swine; 

Some green-lapped. 

Some green-backed ; 
They were the very bonniest swine 
That e'er went over Tipple Tine," 

we have rhythm of moving, rhythm in working — 
song of activity. The two words, going and green, 
sum up the whole: the word "green" expresses hope- 
fulness, and the word "going" means moving forward 
to find. 

Some Mother Goose tales may be told repeatedly, 
like folk-lore, for the purpose of arousing curiosity 
or questioning: 

" Tom he was a piper's son. 
He learnt to play when he was young. 



But all the tune that he could play, 
Was ' Over the hills and far away.' " 

Children will become interested in this whole story. 
Gradually the consciousness of the story grows, viz., 
Tom had the opportunity in his early life; he, how- 
ever neglected it, so his whole life, of usefulness was 
limited. 

As most of the Mother Goose tales are the sim- 
plest form of literature, they may be used through 
their melody, their form, their records of life experi- 
ences and aspirations, as a preparation for the com- 
pletely classical in the expression of human living 
and character. 

" Hush-a-bye, baby. 

On the tree top. 
When the wind blows 

The cradle will rock, 
When the bough breaks 

The cradle will fall, 
Down tumbles baby. 

Bough, cradle, and all," 

contains the vowels, the middle sounds, no broad, 
no harsh sounds : 



u 




a — 


-I- 


— a 


6 




1 — 


e- 


— 6 


e 


— 


1 — 


1 — 


-o 



These give feelings of tenderness and of sympathy, 

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two strong elements in the poetic quality. These 
are shown by the quieting influence upon a child. 

" Little Nanny Etticoat, 
In a white petticoat, 

And a red nose ; 
The longer she stands, 

The shorter she grows," 

brings the child face to face with a conundrum, 
riddle, etc., so that he is in touch with a universal 
theme in literature. 

" As round as an apple, 
As deep as a cup ; 
And all the king's horses 
Can not pull it up," 

is valuable from its form of thought. If children 
were thoroughly practiced, there would be a lasting 
impression. " As round," " as deep " — single per- 
ceptions. "All the king's horses," etc. — relations 
to strongest powers. 

" Little Robin Red-breast sat upon a tree. 
Up went Pussy-cat, and down went he ; 
Down came Pussy-cat, and away Robin ran. 
Says little Robin Red-breast, ' Catch me if you 
can ! ' 

" Little Robin Red-breast jumped upon a wall, 
Pussy-cat jumped after him, and almost got a fall; 

lO 



Little Robin chirped and sang, and what did Pussy 

say ? 
Pussy-cat said 'Mew,' and Robin flew away," 



is a study of cause and effect, and through it the 
child gets the feeling of the metaphor and hence 
other figures. 

" Old King Cole 
Was a merry old soul, 
And a merry old soul was he," etc., 

is merriment expressed by noise merely ; in compari- 
son — Jehu, hurry in driving. The child gets the 
feeling of the significance of the setting. 

" A Frog he would a-wooing go," etc., is felt at 
once as a universal life experience. To know all of 
Mother Goose is to come in touch with life's expe- 
riences and life's aspirations. Through these there 
will be laid the necessary foundation for the stories 
of action, of anger, and of love which reveal the truth 
of human living and the stories of struggle, ot attain- 
ment, of failure, which reveal the truth of human 
character. And from these real impressions there 
will come some measure of creative power. The 
period of impression must be long and continuous, 
until the child-mind is sensitive to every relation of 
personality to himself; then the response of expres- 
sion will come naturally and freely. One little four- 
year-old in order to reply to a quotation from 

1 1 



Mother Goose supplied the true projection of self 
into the setting of humor. " As I was walking 
along the street I met a hen. I made her a curtsey, 
and right otF she turned into a lady. Then I said 
* Par-ra-rah ' to her, and she turned into a hen again." 
There is an expression here of the incongruous and 
of propriety. 

Mother Goose has lived because it expresses a 
universal truth which the child feels and later the 
awakened mind recognizes. These stories should 
be given to the child without any interpretation, so 
that he may be wholly free to fit their truths into 
his own experiences, and also later that he may per- 
ceive life's truths through using them. 

In order to present any one of the Mother Goose 
melodies, one must have grown into a full conscious- 
ness of its meaning. Then the fullness of life will 
emanate from him so that to the child, subcon- 
sciously, there will come occasional glimpses of the 
full meaning. Every teacher of these melodies, 
therefore, needs to possess the spirit of life and the 
habit of conscious study of all modes of expressing, 
and the fully conceived need of radiating life in all 
living. 

All the Mother Goose tales are tor the child ; the 
following, however, are a selected number of special 
value for school use and for the mother's and the 
teacher's study. These tales have been chosen 

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because they are directly applicable to our present 
conditions, so may more easily meet the pupil's need 
of understanding his own environment. 

The interpretations of these rhymes that are given 
are incomplete. Any one tale must have a varied 
interpretation according to the stage of development 
of the reader. The Jack Horner jingle, for in- 
stance, lends itself to the following meanings : 

I. To a little four-year-old there was revealed 
only the incongruous expressed by his capering 
about the room in an excess of merriment. 

1. To a college student Jack was a type of those 
who recognize and seize the opportunities of life. 

}. One adult mind thus expresses her truth found 
in it : 

" O, the world keeps Christmas Day 
In a queer perpetual way ; 
Shouting always, ' What a great big boy am 1 ! ' 
Yet how many of the crowd 

Have really, more than Jack, 
Had a finger in the making of the Pie." 

4. To a fourth. Jack is one who lives alone with- 
out personal contact; he has the best of life's privi- 
leges, but grows only self-centred. 

One of the valuable series of interpretations of 
Mother Goose is Mrs. Whitney's " Mother Goose 
for Grown Folks." The point of view that each 

13 



song is an expression of fun and philosophy is sus- 
tained throughout. 

Ahnost any one of the Mother Goose melodies 
will be found to express humor, to present a person- 
ality through which is suggested a form of activity 
for the child, to give the feeling of some essential 
element of literature, to record a universal life expe- 
rience, and to arouse an aspiration. 



•4 



Suggestive Interpretations for 
Mother Goose 



A cat came fiddling out of a barn, 
With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm ; 
She could sing nothing but fiddle de dee, 
The mouse has married the humble-bee ; 
Pipe, cat, — dance, mouse, — 
We'll have a wedding at our good house. 

Cat and mouse — types of silence, but activity. Barn 
— -store-house (the earth). Cat usually came out quietly. • . 
fiddling — noise — the unusual. Pair of bag-pipes — detail 
of the unusual. "She could sing," etc. — imitated the 
fiddle, no individual power. "Mouse has married" — silence 
united with thought gives more truly music, or at least 
rhythm, although mouse must be quieter than cat. "Pipe, 
cat" — sounds, gayety. "Wedding — our house" — a union 
of all in our possession. 

The cat and the mouse usually express discord; the 
wonderful picture here is the harmony growing out of so 
many seeming discords. 



A frog he would a-wooing go, 

Sing, heigho, says Rowley, 
Whether his mother would let him or no ; 
With a rowley, powley, gammon, and spinach, 

Heigho, says Anthony Rowley. 

So off he marched with his opera hat, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
And on the way he met with a rat. 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

And when they came to a mouse's hall, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
They gave a loud knock, and they gave a loud call. 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

"Pray, Mrs. Mouse, are you within?" 

Heigho, says Rowley; 
"Yes, kind sir, I am sitting to spin," 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

"Pray, Mrs. Mouse, will you give us some beer?" 

Heigho, says Rowley; 
"For Froggy and I are fond of good cheer," 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

Now while they all were a merry-making, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
The cat and her kittens came tumbling in, 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 
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The cat she seized the rat by the crown, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
The kittens they pulled the little mouse down, 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

This put the poor frog in a terrible fright, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
So he took up his hat and wished them good-night, 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

But as Froggy was crossing over a brook, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
A lily-white duck came and gobbled him up. 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

So there was an end of one, two, and three, 

Heigho, says Rowley, 
The rat, the mouse, and the little Frog-ee ! 

With a rowley, powley, etc. 

Independence without experience is only self-will. 



19 



A horse and cart 

Had Billy Smart, 
To play when it pleased him ; 

The cart he 'd load 

By the side of the road, 
And be happy if no one teased him. 

Possessions did not satisfy him — work did not assure 
him happiness. 



20 



A little boy went into a barn, 
And lay down on some hay ; 

An owl came out and flew about, 
And the little boy ran away. 

Activity went into a silent, inactive place — the place of 
owls. The inactive when pervaded by the active spirit be- 
came active, and brought back life to the one who had given 
it up. One carries his spirit with him, and it pervades all. 
Sleep is used as the symbol. In Little Miss Muffett eating 
is the symbol. 



21 



A man of words and not of deeds 
Is like a garden full of weeds; 
For when the weeds begni to grow. 
Then does the garden overflow. 

Epigrammatic — so of value. 

That that a soul is filled with, comes forth. 



22 



Arthur O' Bower has broken his band, 
He comes roaring up the land; — 
The King of Scots, with all his power, 
Cannot turn Arthur of the Bower ! 

This is like Humpty-Dumpty ! Real power is that 
which overcomes. 



23 



As I was going along, long, long, 

A-singing a comical song, song, song, 

The lane that I went was so long, long, long, 

And the song that I sung was as long, long, long, 

And so I went singing along. 

The joy of living may be found in every detail. 



2.4 



As I was going to St. Ives, 

I met a man with seven wives; 

Every wife had seven sacks, 

Every sack had seven cats. 

Every cat had seven kits : 

Kits, cats, sacks and wives, 

How many were there going to St. Ives? 

/ counts but one. 



25 



As I was going up Pippen Hill, — 

Pippen Hill was dirty, — 
There I met a pretty miss, 

And she dropped me a curtsey. 

Little miss, pretty miss, 

Blessings light upon you! 
If I had half-a-crown a day, 

I 'd spend it all upon you. 

Beauty and the satisfactory may be met everywhere in 
every experience. When we think of beauty in that com- 
bination, we regard the meeting of it as a blessing. 



26 



As I went through the garden gap, 

Who should I meet but Dick Red-cap ! 

A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat. 

If you '11 tell me this riddle, I '11 give you a groat. 

The personality is what is sought naturally in every 
experience. 



27 



As round as an apple, 

As deep as a cup ; 
And all the king's horses 

Can not pull it up. 

The strongest earthly powers cannot disturb the deepest 
sources of life. 



28 



A swarm of bees in May 
Is worth a load of hay; 
A swarm of bees m June 
Is worth 'a silver spoon; 
A swarm of bees in July 
Is not worth a fly. 

A study for cause and effect, and for relations. 

Bees in May gather a little honey from the rarer flowers. 
Bees in June gather more honey from many flowers. Bees 
in July gather much honey from myriads of flowers. The 
work increases, the abundance of honey still increases — 
the payment decreases. 



29 



Baa, baa, black sheep. 

Have you any wool? 
Yes, marry, have I, 
■ Three bags full ; 
One for my master, 

And one for my dame. 
And one for the little boy 

Who lives in the lane. 

1. We may gi\'e to those who give to us. 

2. We may give to those who expect from us. 

3. We may give to the helpless who ask from their 
need. 



30 



Bow, wow, wow, 
Whose dog art thou ? 
Little Tom Tinker's dog, 
Bow, wow, wow. 

Just the same even though known — just a dog and 
nothing more. 



31 



Bye, baby bunting, 
Daddy 's gone a-hunting. 
To get a little rabbit skin 
To wrap the baby bunting in. 

. i — a — u — 1 
This has the same crooning sound of other lullabies, as 
" Bairnies ! Cuddle — doon ! " 

Love is guarded and cared for. 



32 



Ding dong bell, 

The cat's in the well ! 

Who put her in ? — 

Little Johnny Green. 

Who pulled her out? — 

Big Johnny Stout. 
What a naughty boy was that 
To drown poor pussy cat, 
Who never did him any harm. 
But killed the mice in his father's barn! 

True condemnation overtakes thoughtlessness always. 



33 



Four and twenty tailors 

Went to kill a snail ; 
The best man among them 

Durst not touch her tail ; 
She put out her horns 

Like a little Kyloe cow. 
Run, tailors, run, or 

She '11 kill you all just now. 

Many who cut, carve, destroy the inanimate, are baffled 
or lose couraee entirely when they recognize the slightest 
power of self-expression in the living organism. 



34 



Great A, little a, 

Bouncing B ! 
The cat 's in the cupboard, 

And she can't see. 

"Great A, . . . bouncing B" — inattention, perhaps 
partial attention. " Cat's in the cupboard " — closer atten- 
tion, an observation. "She can't see" — an observation 
to excuse oneself. 



35 



Hark, hark! 

The dogs do bark, 
The beggars are coming to town ; 

Some hi rags, 

Some in tags. 
And some in velvet gowns. 

The annunciation of one's Hfe is really the same for all^ 
regardless of his external guise. 



36 



Here we go up, up, up. 

And here we go down, down, downy, 
And here we go backwards and forwards, 

And here we go round, round, roundy. 

This suggests the valuable feeling of the need of the 
*' reciprocal " in life — the whole play of the swing. This 
is especially strong in expressing y>^//«^. 



37 



Hey! diddle, diddle, 

The cat and the fiddle. 
The cow jumped over the moon ; 

The little dog laughed 

To see such craft, 
And the dish ran away with the spoon. 

" Hey ! diddle, diddle" — a laugh. That that follows 
is the unexpected. A person often laughs at his own witty 
remark because it is as unexpected to him as to the hearer. 
Each of these is unexpected because of the impossibility. 



38 



Hickory, dickory, dock, 
The mouse ran up the clock. 
The clock struck one,. 
The mouse ran down ; 
Hickory, dickory, dock. 

Not wonderful wee mouse but poor little observer. 



39 



Hogs in the garden, catch 'em, Towser ; 

Cows in the cornfield, run, boys, run ; 
Cats in the cream-pot, run, girls, run, girls ; 

Fire on the mountains, run, boys, run. 

Recognitions of instinctive actions upon the parts of 
irresponsible nature awaken each one to his appropriate 
work. 



40 



Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall ; 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall ; 

Not all the king's horses nor all the kuig's men 

Could set Humpty Dumpty up again. 

These are contrasts — hump and dump, high and low, 
rreat and small, aim and fall. 

The greatest earthly power cannot elevate any abased. 



41 



If all the seas were one sea, 
What a great sea that would be ! 
And if all the trees were one tree, 
What a ([real tree that would be ! 
And if all the axes were one axe. 
What a great axe that would be ! 
And if all the men were one man. 
What a great man he wovild be ! 
And if the great man took the great axe. 
And cut down the great tree. 
And let it fall into the great sea. 
What a splish splash that would be ! 

The theory of Unity is all reduced to a feeling. The 
same story is expressed in the Great Bear, the Little Bear, 
and the Middle-sized Bear. The power of thought sur- 
passes experience. 



42 



If all the world were apple-pie, 

And all the sea were ink, 
And all the trees were bread and cheese, 

What should we have to drink ? 

The world, sea, trees — elements of nature (the primary 
objects). Apple-pie, ink, bread and cheese — common ob- 
jects of man's produce. If all the simple needs were merged 
into the intricate supplies, there would still remain the need 
of the simple elemental force to sustain life. It is a sum- 
mary of Thoreau's philosophy — life is supported by water, 
food, and air. 



43 



I had a little pony, 

His name was Dapple Gray, 
I lent him to a lady, 

To ride a mile away ; 
She whipped him, she slashed him, 

She rode him through the mire ; 
I would not lend my pony now 

For all the lady's hire. 

That which one prizes and finds pleasure in is only for 
another a means of expressing a lower nature. Experience 
shows it. 



44 



I have a little sister, they call her peep, peep ; 
She wades the waters deep, deep, deep ; 
She climbs the mountains high, high, high ; 
Poor little creature, she has but one eye. 

It is typical of the story of partial privileges — "deep" 
and "high" experiences — but the great limitation of one 
eye — overpowering. 



45 



I saw a ship a-sailing, 

A-sailing on the sea ; 
And O ! it was all laden 

With pretty things for thee ! 

There were comfits in the cabin, 

And apples in the hold; 
The sails were made of silk, 

And the masts were made of gold! 

The four and twenty sailors, 
That stood between the decks. 

Were four and twenty white mice. 
With chains about their necks. 

The captain was a duck. 

With a packet on his back; 
And when the ship began to move, 

The captain said, "Quack! quack!'* 

Another person in life seems to have things more beau- 
tiful than /. « 



46 



Jack and Jill 

Went up the hill, 
To fetch a pail of water ; 

Jack fell down 

And broke his crown 
And Jill came tumbling after. 

1. Two united souls in the path of life, with the purpose 
of obtaining the real support of life. 

2. One soul (the reason) lost its power to think, and so 
destroyed the other. Jack — the reason, Jill — the heart. 



47 



Lady bird! Lady bird! 

Fly away home ; 
Your house is on fire, 

Your children will burn. 

The maternal instinct for care guides one homeward 
always. 



Leg over leg, 

As the dog went to Dover; 
When he came to a stile. 

Jump he went over. 

Patient plodding day by day must be interrupted by 
narrow passes into broader paths. The open door of a 
privilege must be seen at once. 



48 



Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, 

And can't tell where to find them; 
Leave them alone, and they '11 come home, 

And bring their tails behind them. 

Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep. 

And dreamed she heard them bleating; 

But when she awoke, she found it a joke, 
For they were still a-fleeting. 

Then up she took her little crook. 

Determined for to find them; 
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed. 

For they'd left their tails behind them. 

We comfort ourselves with the thought that a neglected 
duty may be dropped, but we recognize our mistake, start 
out to rectify it, only to find it, too late, impossible. 



49 



Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, 
The sheep 's in the meadow, the cow 's in the corn ; 
Where 's the little boy that tends the sheep ? 
He 's under the hay-cock, fast asleep. 

Wh'en the Eternal (blue) guard of our lives lays aside its 
directing we follow our inclinations and wander. 



50 



Little Jack Horner 

Sat in a corner, 

Eating a Christmas pie ; 
He put in his thumb, 
And pulled out a plum, 

And said, " What a good boy am I ! " 

He who lives alone, without personal contact, even with 
the best of life's furnishings grows only self-centred. 



51 



Little Johnny Pringle had a little pig ; 
It was very little, so was not very big. 
As it was playing beneath the shed, 
In half a minute poor Piggie was dead. 
So Johnny Pringle he sat down and cried. 
And Betty Pringle she lay down and died. 
There is the history of one, two, and three, 
Johnny Pringle, Betty Pringle, and Piggie Wiggie. 

Crying over spilt milk. Consequences inevitable. 



52 



Little girl, little girl, where have you been ? 
Gathering roses to give to the queen. 
Little girl, little girl, what gave she you ? 
She gave me a diamond as big as my shoe. 

Unconsciousness (nature) presented beauty to the life 
that controls or sees it. That life could only give to nature 
in return a beauty that had been made or had become con- 
scious. 



53 



Little Miss MufFett 

She sat on a tuffet, 
Eating of curds and whey ; 

There came a black spider, 

And sat down beside her, 
Which frightened Miss Muffett away. 

When conventionality requires that a mere child be 
formal, life running will upset the plan and make the child 
act naturally. 



54 



Little Tommy Tucker, 

Sing for your supper. 
What shall I sing? 

White bread and butter. 

How shall I cut it 

Without any knife ? 
How shall I marry 

Without any wife ? 

Some little souls have but the one mission in life, to 
sing even over the smallest details. 



55 



Mistress Mary, quite contrary, 
How does your garden grow ? 

With silver bells and cockle shells, 
And pretty maids all in a row. 

One's environment may be moulded by himself. 



56 



Old King Cole 

Was a merry old soul, 
And a merry old soul was he; 
He called, for his pipe, 
And he called for his bowl. 
And he called for his fiddlers three. 
Every fiddler, he had a fiddle. 
And a very fine fiddle had he; 
Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers. 

O, there 's none so rare 

As can compare 
With King Cole and his fiddlers three ! 

A person of the highest attainment in position may find 
but one self-centred interest. 



S7 



Old Mother Hubbard 
Went to the cupboard, 

To get her poor dog a bone ; 
But when she came there, 
The cupboard was bare, 

And so the poor dog had none. 

She went to the baker's 

To buy him some bread; 
But when she came back, 

The poor dog was dead. 

She went to the joiner's 

To buy him a coffin ; 
But when she came back, 

The poor dog was laughing. 

(For the remainder see Wheeler's " Mother Goose Melo- 
dies.") 

Mother H. — unwise worker (drudge). Dog — un- 
faithful retainer. By her drudgery — undue regard for the 
details of his life which he should have supplied himself — 
she became the thankless worker (servant); he, the noisy 
bow-wow. 



Once I saw a little bird 
Come hop, hop, hop; 
So I cried, " Little bird. 
Will you stop, stop, stop?" 

And was going to the window 

To say, " How do you do ? " 
But he shook his little tail. 
And far away he flew. 

I thought I was well enough acquainted to dictate duty ; 
instead, I found I could gain no response in a greeting. 

So often we assume a responsibility for another which 
is promptly refused. 



59 



One misty, moisty morning, 

When cloudy was the weather, 

I chanced to meet an old man clothed all in leather. 

He began to compliment, and I began to grin. 

How do you do ? and how do you do? 

And how do you do again ? 

One's own attitude of m-ind may be projected into an- 
other. There is always a contagion of spirits despite the 
external conditions. 



60 



Peter Piper picked a peck of pickleci peppers ; 
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked ; 
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, 
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper 
picked ? 

Mental obsessions may lead one to speak without 
thought. 



Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been ? 
" I've been up to London to look at the queen," 
Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you there ? 
" I frightened a little mouse under the chair." 

One has the opportunity to know a greater than him- 
self, but according to habit he seeks one whom he can subor- 
dinate. 



6i 



Pussy sits behind the log, 

How can she be fair? 
Then comes in the little dog, 

Pussy, are you there ? 

So, so, dear Mistress Pussy, 
Pray tell me how you do. 

I thank you kindly, little dog, 
I'm very well just now. 

The weak alway in fear of the enemy must use some 
defence. 



Rain, rain, go away. 
Come again another day; 
Little (Johnny) wants to play. 

Work before play. 

Nature cannot adapt itself to our pleasure. 



62 



Ride a cock-horse to Banbury-cross 
To see an old lady upon a white horse, 
Rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes. 
And so she makes music wherever she goes. 

Often the same events of life give us a certain experi- 
ence, and also present to us some embodiment or expres- 
sion of our ideals. 



Rock-a-bye, baby. 

Thy cradle is green ; 
Father 's a nobleman. 

Mother 's a queen ; 
And Betty 's a lady. 

And wears a gold ring ; 
And Johnny's a drummer, 

And drums for the king. 

The dreams of a life transform every environment. 



63 



Simple Simon met a pieman 

Going to the fair ; 
Says Simple Simon to the pieman, 

" Pray let me taste your ware." 

Says the pieman to Simple Simon, 
" Show me first your penny ; " 

Says Simple Simon to the pieman, 
" Indeed, I have not any." 

Simple Simon went a-fishing 

For to catch a whale ; 
All the water he had got 

Was in his mother's pail. 

Simple Simon went to look 

If plums grew on a thistle ; 
He pricked his fingers very much. 

Which made poor Simon whistle. 

Simple Simon wished to taste merely, not to know or 
use. He always responded in part, never entirely. 



64 



Some little mice sat in a barn to spin, 
Pussy came by, and popped her head in ; 
"Shall I come in and cut your threads off? " 
" O ! no, kind sir, you will snap our heads off'! " 

Recognizing the tempter. 



65 



The King of France went up the hill, 

With twenty thousand men ; 
The King of France came down the hill, 

And ne'er went up again. 

The test of struggle is always put to any leader. One 
experience may result in total loss without any renewal of 
endeavor. 



The man in the moon 

Came down too soon, 
To inquire the way to Norwich. 

He went by the south. 

And burnt his mouth 
With eating cold pease porridge. 

When a person steps back in his opportunities he finds 
only common experiences. 



66 



The man in the wilderness asked me, 
How many strawberries grew in the sea. 
I answered him, as 1 thought good. 
As many as red herrings grew in the wood. 

The lack of clear thinking induces similar thought. 



The north wind doth blow, 
And we shall have snow, 
And what will the robin do then? 
Poor thing ! 

He '11 sit in a barn. 
And keep himself warm, 
And hide his head under his wing. 
Poor thing! 

Expresses true sympathy. What man would do for 
anyone is not the best to be done for him. 



67 



There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked 

mile, 
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile. 
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked 

mouse. 
And they all lived together in a little crooked house. 

One's real nature is certain to express itself. 
The strongest element in a person's nature permeates 
and controls his whole living. 



68 



There was a little man, 

And he had a little gun, 
And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead ; 

He went to the brook. 

And he saw a little duck, 
And shot it through the head, head, head. 

He carried it home 

To his w^ife Joan, 
And bade her a fire to make, make, make. 

To roast the little duck, 

He had shot in the brook. 
And he 'd go and fetch the drake, drake, drake. 

An ordinary mind enjoys small, vulgar conquest. 



69 



There was a man of our town, 

And he was wondrous wise ; 
He jumped into a bramble bush, 

And scratched out both his eyes; 
And when he saw his eyes were out, 

With all his might and main 
He jumped into another bush, 

And scratched them in again. 

People must have a severe experience betore they can be 
roused in their intensity to choose to do an heroic thing. 



There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, 

She had so many children she did n't know what to 

do; 
She gave them some broth without any bread. 
She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. 

The mother-spirit is not omniscient. 



70 



There were two birds sat on a stone, 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de ; 
One flew away and then there was one, 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de; 
The other flew after, and then there was none, 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de; 
So the poor stone was left all alone. 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de ! 

One of these little birds back again flew. 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de; 
The other came after, and then there were two, 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de; 
Says one to the other. Pray how do you do ? 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de; 
Very well, thank you, and pray how are you ? 

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de ! 

Two lives possessing all the power of freedom find it 
necessary to dwell together upon the stable support. 



71 



There were two blackbirds 

Sitting on a hill, 
The one was named Jack, 

The other named Jill. 
Fly away, Jack ! 

Fly away, Jill ! 
Come again. Jack ! 

Come again, Jill ! 

Two minds that have helped each other to find the 
large open Vision, rest — but must induce each other to a 
larger freedom. 



72 



This little pig went to market; 
This httle pig staid at home ; 
This httle pig had roast meat; 
This little pig had none; 
This little pig cried, "Wee, wee, 
I can't find my way home," 

Every little being has his place, his work, and his 
opportunity. 

This play is excellent for testing children. Say it to a 
child, omitting one finger or toe, and invariably the child 
asks what // does. 



73 



Tom he was a piper's son, 
He learnt to play when he was young, 
But all the tune that he could play, 
Was " Over the hills and far away." 

But Tom with his pipe made such a noise. 
That he pleased both the girls and boys; 
And they stopped to hear him play, 
" Over the hills and far away." 

Tom had the opportunity in his early life ; he, how- 
ever, kept himself far away from it. 



74 



Three little kittens lost their mittens, 

And they began to cry: 
" O mother dear, we very much fear 

That we have lost our mittens." 

" Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! 
Then you shall have no pie," 

Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow ! 
And we can have no pie. 

Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow ! 

Good in style. 

When people are impressed by the same ideas, they 
must necessarily suffer together. 



Three wise men of Gotham 
Went to sea in a bowl; 
And if the bowl had been stronger 
My song had been longer. 

The common mind cannot use its details for the com- 
prehension of the vastness of the universal life. 



75 



When I was a bachelor, I hved by myself, 

And all the bread and cheese I got I put upon a 

shelf; 
The rats and the mice they made such a strife, 
I was forced to go to London to buy me a wife. 
The roads were so bad, and the lanes were so nar- 
row, 
I was forced to bring mv wife home in a wheelbar- 
row; 
The wheelbarrow broke, and my wife had a fall, 
And down came the wheelbarrow, wife, and all. 

Cares are not lessened by added possessions. 



76 



A was an apple-pie, etc. 
Many things related only by association. 

The Crooked Sixpence, or The Old Woman and her 
Pig. 

The power of influence. 

The House that Jack Built. 

Pictorial suggestions of evolution — the idea of growth 
pictured. 

Who killed Cock Robin ? 

See Wheeler's " Mother Goose Melodies." 
Self-duty accepts consequences with open directness. 

The rhymes suggested upon this page may each be 
found in Heart of Oak Books, No. r, edited by Charles 
Eliot Norton and published by D. C. Heath & Co. 



77 



Bibliography 



I. BOOKS FOR THE TEACHER 

Mother Goose Melodies. Edited bv Wm. A. Wheeler, former 
librarian o\ the Boston Public Library. Boston: Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co., 1879. 

Probably the most complete and authentic of the Mother 
Goose publications. Notes full and of historical interest. 

A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes. Edited by S. Baring 
Gould. 111. by members of Birmingham Art School. Phila- 
delphia: The J. B. Lippincott Co., 1895. 

Valuable introduction. Notes of historical interest and also 
suggestive for meanings. 

The Original Mother Goose's Melody. Reprint of the first 
Worcester edition. Preface by Wm. H. Whitmore. Boston: 
Damrell & Upham, 1892. 

Preface gives very interesting bibliographical notes. 

Blue-Beard. By Thomas Williams of U. S. National Museum. 
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1899. 

A contribution to history and folk-lore. Gives a bibliog- 
raphy of Mothex Goose publications. 

Mother Goose for Grown Folks. By Mrs. A. D. T. Whit- 
ney. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1870, 1898. 
Very suggestive for interpretations. 

Mother Goose's Popular Tales in Verse. Philadelphia : W. P. 
Hazard, 1858. 

Contents: — Fox and Geese, Tom the Piper, Little Man 
and Maid, Simple Simon, Jenny Wren, Frog A-wooing, Cock 
Robin, Bear and Children (in prose). Thirty illustrations, 
quaint but full of meaning. Often a suggestive meaning given 
as a moral. 

78 



The True Mother Goose. Edited by Blanche McManus. New 
York: Mansfield and Wessels, 1899. 

Illustrations excellent. Introduction suggestive to the 
teacher. 

A Book of Nursery Rhymes. Arranged by Chas. Welsh, Boston: 
D. C. Heath (Sc Co. (in Home and School Classics). 

The grading ot the rhymes gives many suggestions to the 
teacher. 

Contents: — I. Mother Play : personal to the child. II. 
Mother Stories : animals and their doings. III. Mother 
Stories : other children and other people in relation to the 
child. IV. Mother Stories : days and nights ; weeks, months, 
and years ; time and the weather. V. Child Play : plays, 
games, riddles, counting-out rhymes, etc. VI. Child Stories 
and Child Play Stories. Proverbs. Paradoxes. Experience 
rhymes. Rhvming alphabets. 

Mother Goose. Boston: S. W. Tilton & Co. 

Gives 24 outline pictures with directions for coloring. 

Mother Goose Melodies. Boston: Lee & Shepard, 1878. 
Silhouette illustrations suggestive to the teacher. 

Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. 111. by Opper. 

London & Philadelphia: The J. B. Lippincott Co., 1900. 
Valuable for its suggestive illustrations. 

Mother Goose set to Music. By [ames Wm. Elliott. New 
York: Carleton (S; Co., I 87 I. 

Mother Goose. "The Baby's Opera." Edited, etc., by Walter 
Crane. London & New York: Routledge <i' Sons, 1877. 

Set to music and artistically illustrated. Music by the 
earliest masters. 

79 



JUN 10 1903 



Mother Goose Songs. By L. E. Orth. Boston: Oliver Ditson 
Co., 1897. 

Seventy of the best-known Mother Goose Melodies arranged 
for the piano. Excellent. 

Mother Goose's Menagerie. By Carolyn Wells, 111. by Peter 
Newell. Boston: Noyes, Piatt & Co., 1901. 

Contains poems about the animals mentioned in Mother 
Goose. Suggestive point of departure for animal study. At- 
tractive illustrations. 

II. BOOKS FOR THE CHILDREN 

Mother Goose Melodies. Edited by Wm. A. Wheeler. Boston: 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1879. 

Mother Goose. Boston: Fiske, DeWolf & Co. 

A very full collection but not always authentic in form. 
Illustrations unusually pleasing. 

Mother Goose. 111. by Kate Greenaway, London: Routledge 
&Sons. 1 88 1. 



80 



. .'.,.. 10 CAT. 0* 
JUN. W 1903 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



000 870 734 0f 



